Dawn Chorus broadcast live throughout Ireland

The dawn chorus was broadcast live throughout the island of Ireland in the early hours of Sunday morning 06 May, as BBC Radio Ulster and RTÉ collaborated on a simulcast.

RTÉ believe that Radio One’s live International Dawn Chorus is ‘one of the most ambitious and innovative radio projects to have hit the airwaves in recent years’. For over two decades now, Derek Mooney and his team of experts have been bringing the uplifting and fascinating sounds of early-morning birdsong to listeners.

In the North, Darryl Grimason and an expert ornithologist marked International Dawn Chorus Day for BBC Radio Ulster broadcasting from Co Down, as they linked up with radio colleagues in RTÉ and across Europe.

In 2016 the simulcast brought together two international networks, joining forces for the first time : the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and BirdLife International, the global partnership of bird conservation organisations.

Winner of both of the National PPI Radio Award for Innovation and the coveted International Rose d’Or award, RTÉ say the programme has become ‘one of the broadcast highlights of the year, not just in Ireland, but right across Europe’. Featuring live birdsong and expert commentary spanning the entire continent, it offers an unmatched live celebration of Europe’s shared natural heritage.

What is the Dawn Chorus?

According to the RSPB:

“Our songbirds time their breeding season to the warmest part of the year, when there is plenty of food and lots of daylight in which to find it. As winter turns to spring, the lengthening daylight switches male songbirds into breeding mode.

The first songsters of the season are residents such as robins and great tits, joined later on by migrants like chiffchaffs and blackcaps to make May and June the peak time to enjoy the dawn chorus”.

This was the 23rd live celebration of early-morning birdsong from RTÉ’s Mooney Goes Wild team, and the third to go fully international as this year RTÉ was joined by ABC in Australia and All India Radio.

This year, the coverage brought live calling of the Cuckoo from Co Clare, and a Corncrake in Co Donegal.

BirdWatch Ireland said it is concerned about figures issued by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) which reveal that there was a further decline in Corncrake numbers recorded during the 2017 breeding season. The population of these highly threatened birds has declined for the third year in a row and is now down to 140 pairs from a peak of 230 in 2014.

“Given that this is the third year in a row in which the population has declined, both nationally and in Co. Donegal, which is one of the key strongholds for this highly threatened species, there is definitely cause for concern.”

‘Home base’ for this International dawn chorus was St. Anne’s Park, Raheny, in Dublin, where the main team of presenters were Derek Mooney (until 3am), Aonghus McAnally, Dr. Richard Collins, Éanna Ní Lámhna, Eric Dempsey and BirdWatch Ireland’s Niall Hatch introduced the dawn chorus and, while the birdsong builds in real time, explained to listeners what our feathered friends were getting up to across Europe as the sun rises. Listeners heard live Bittern booming from eastern Europe.

A spokesperson for RTÉ said before the broadcast:

“This year’s programme has been extended by one hour and promises to be even bigger and better than ever before. It will feature live contributions from more than 22 different locations across Europe, from the lush primeval forests of eastern Poland, the mountain slopes of Balkans and the reed-fringed lakes of the Austrian lowlands to the polders of The Netherlands, the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands and even the icy tundra of the high Norwegian Arctic.”

The broadcaster says there will be special focus on the birds of the Dublin Bay Biosphere.

“One of the stand-out highlights of last year’s programme was the otherworldly sounds made by the Grey Herons and Little Egrets nesting high in the treetops in St. Anne’s Park and we will feature them again this year, along with Corncrakes in Donegal and Pochard and other waterfowl on Lough Ennel in County Westmeath”.

Inside Ireland

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